The Global Zimbabwe Forum in partnership with its local regional affiliate, the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum would like to confirm that it successfully participated in a public protest outside the Kenyan High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.

The event was held on the morning of Tuesday 8th January 2008.

The picket was organized by a network of South African based Kenyans who also extended a request to the Zimbabweans exiled in South Africa to participate in the march in solidarity with them.

The good news is that at least one full bus load of Zimbabwean activists managed to turn out in full force and helped to make the protest to be a huge success.

The Vice Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum, Solomon ‘Sox’ Chikohwero was also given a chance to make a public address of solidarity at the event.

We would like as Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, to state in no uncertain terms our unequivocal stance on the following issues:

The outcome of the recently held Kenyan elections does not truly reflect the democratic will of the nation’s electoral majority. We do not recognize Mr. Mwai Kibaki as the duly re-elected President of Kenya. We also condemn the political motivated violence, rape and killings that have become an unfortunate outcome of the recent elections. We urge all the interested political parties in Kenya to seek a common peaceful resolution to the current post electoral crisis in the country. We endorse every current effort to mediate in the crisis particularly from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Ghana’s President John Kufour. We also extend our full appreciation to all the relief agencies such as the Red Cross that have already responded to the humanitarian crisis that has engulfed the Kenyan nation. We urge all Zimbabweans and Africans in general to rise up and stand in solidarity with the struggling people of Kenya.

Since early 2007, the Zimbabwean government has brutally sought to suppress political opposition with state sponsored torture and political violence. This upsurge in political violence occurred following a peaceful prayer rally organized on March 11 2007 by a coalition of Zimbabwean church and civic organizations.

This investigation, the first conducted by international health professionals since the March 2007 violence, provides evidence that the Zimbabwean government is systematically utilizing torture and violence as a means of deterring political opposition. This state-sanctioned violence targets low-level political organizers and ordinary citizens, in addition to the prominent members of the political opposition.

This report, based on forensic evaluations, documents how victims of political violence have been tortured and subjected to other human rights abuses causing devastating health consequences. Victims were detained under inhuman conditions and denied appropriate access to medical and legal assistance. Members of civil society, including doctors and lawyers assisting victims of political violence, also described being subjected to harassment by government authorities. These findings raise profound concerns as to whether elections scheduled for 2008 will be free and fair.

VII. Health Consequences of Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe33

Physical Health Consequences of Reported Abuses 33

Psychological Effects 35

Psychological Distress among Zimbabwean Refugees in South Africa 38

VIII. Poor Conditions of Detention and Delays in Access to Medical Care

and Legal Assistance 39

Inhuman Jail Conditions 39

Delays in Access to Legal Services while in Police Custody 40

Delays in Access to Medical Care while in Police Custody 41

Delays in Medical Care Outside of Prison 43

Difficulties Accessing Medical Care in South Africa 44

IX. Harassment of Doctors and Lawyers Assisting Victims of Torture and

Political Violence in Zimbabwe 45

Intimidation and Harassment of Doctors 45

Intimidation and Threats to Lawyers 47

X. Risks and Limitation of this Investigation48

XI. Tables49

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa

(OSISA)

The Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) is a leading Johannesburg-based foundation established in 1997, working in ten Southern Africa countries: Angola, Botsawanta, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. OSISA works differently in each of these ten countries according to local conditions.

There are specialized programme managers in Angola, Zimbabwe and Swaziland-these being the three countries in which significant structural

governance questions still obtain. OSISA is part of a network of autonomous foundations, established by George Soros, located in Eastern and Central Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US.

OSISA's vision is to promote and sustain the ideals, values institutions and practice of open society. OSISA's vision is that of a vibrant Southern African society in which people, free from material and other deprivation, understand their rights and responsibilities and participate democratically in all spheres of life.

In pursuance of this vision, OSISA's mission is to initiate and support programmes working toward open society ideals and to advocate for these ideals in Southern Africa. This approach involves looking beyond

immediate symptoms, in order to address the deeper problems  focusing on changing underlying policy, legislation and practice, rather than on short-term welfarist interventions.

Given the enormity of the needs and challenges in the region it operates in, and acknowledging that it cannot possibly meet all of these needs, OSISA, where appropriate, supports advocacy work by its partners in the respective countries, or joins partners in advocacy on shared objectives and goals. In other situations, OSISA directly initiates and leads in advocacy interventions, along the key thematic programmes that guide its work. OSISA also intervenes through the facilitation of new and innovative initiatives and partnerships, through capacity building initiatives as well as through grantmaking.

OSISA Johannesburg Office

12th Floor Braamfontein Centre

23 Jorissen Street

Braamfontein 2017

PO Box 678

Wits 2050 South Africa

Telephone: +27 (011) 403-3414/5/6

Fax: +27 (011) 404-2708

Email: info@osisa.org

Website: www.osisa.org

The Open Society Institute (OSI)

The Open Society Institute (OSI), a private operating and grantmaking foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media.

At the same time, OSI works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses.

OSI was created in 1993 by investor and philanthropist George Soros to support his foundations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Those foundations were established, starting in 1984, to help countries make the transition from communism. OSI has expanded the activities of the Soros foundations network to other areas of the world where the transition to democracy is of particular concern. The

Soros foundations network encompasses more than 60 countries, including the United States.

OSI Initiatives

OSI's initiatives address specific issue areas on a regional or network-wide basis around the world. Most of the initiatives are administered by OSI-New York or OSI-Budapest and are implemented in cooperation with Soros foundations in various countries and regions.

OSI initiatives cover a range of activities aimed at building free and open societies, including grantmaking to strengthen civil society; economic reform; education at all levels; human rights; legal reform and public administration; media and communications; public health; and arts and culture.

Soros Foundations

Soros foundations are autonomous institutions established in particular countries or regions to initiate and support open society activities. The priorities and specific activities of each foundation are determined by a local board of directors and staff in consultation with George Soros and OSI boards and advisors. In addition to support from OSI, many of the foundations receive funding from other sources.

The foundations network consists of national foundations in 29 countries, foundations in Kosovo and Montenegro, and two regional foundations, the Open Society Initiative

for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). OSISA and OSIWA, which are governed by their own boards of directors and staffs from the region, make grants in a total of 27 African countries.

OSI-New York

400 West 59th Street

New York, NY 10019

USA

Tel. 1-212-548-0600

Fax: 1-212-548-4619

The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture

The Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary care addressing the medical, mental health, and social service needs of torture survivors and their families.

The program has established an international reputation for excellence in its clinical, educational, and research activities including documenting torture and its health consequences. The Bellevue/NYU Program is a

member of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.

The Bellevue/NYU Program brings together clinical and academic resources from Bellevue Hospital, the oldest public hospital in the United States, and New York University School of Medicine. Since its inception in 1995, the program has cared for more than 2,000 men, women and children from over 70 different countries.

The Bellevue/NYU Program has conducted ground breaking research in documenting torture and its health consequences in countries around the world. Recent research projects have included evaluating the prevalence of trauma and psychological symptoms among Darfurian refugees in Chad; the health consequences of detention of asylum seekers in the United States; and trauma and its health consequences among Tibetan Refugees in India.

The Bellevue/NYU Program its staff have received numerous awards including the Jim Wright Vulnerable Populations Award from the National Association of Pubic Hospitals, the Roger E. Joseph Prize from Hebrew Union College, The Barbara Chester Award from the Hopi Foundation, The Arthur C. Helton Human Rights Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association, the Human Rights Defender Award from Physicians for Human Rights, and The Robin Hood Foundation Heroes Award.

Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture

462 First Avenue, C and D Building, Room 710

New York, NY 10016 USA

Telephone: 212-994-7169

Fax: 212-994-7177

Email: (Dr. Allen Keller-Program Director) ask45@aol.com

Website: www.survivorsoftorture.org

A Crisis in Democracy, Health and Human Rights / 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report was researched and written by Allen Keller, M.D., and Samantha Stewart, M.D. Dr. Keller is Associate Professor of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Director of the Bellevue/NYU

Program for Survivors of Torture, Director of the NYU School of Medicine Center for Health and Human Rights and is a member of the Advisory Board of Physicians for Human Rights. Dr. Stewart is a staff

psychiatrist with the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture, and an Attending Physician, Department of Psychiatry, Bellevue Hospital.

The report was reviewed and edited by Jonathan Cohen, Julie Hayes, Open Society Institute, New York, NY; Delme Cupido, Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa;

We thank Dr. Loren Landau, Forced Migration Studies Programme, University of Witwatersrand, Witwatersrand South Africa; and Emily Sachs, Fordham University Department of Psychology New

York, New York, for their comments.

A special thanks to Selvan Chetty of Solidarity Peace Trust for all of his efforts and support in preparing this report. We are grateful to all of the individuals who agreed to be interviewed for this report and to all of the

individuals and organizations who provided information, advice and assistance in planning and preparing this report.

Support for this report was provided by the Open Society Institute.

2 / Torture and Political Violence in Zimbabwe

I. SUMMARY

The 2008 Presidential campaign has already begun. This violence is the strategy of the ruling party. They want to eliminate opposition now so that the situation will appear calm in the period before the election. -Zimbabwean Human Rights Advocate

It is less than one year before Zimbabwe will hold the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2008. Since early 2007 the country has been subject to an upsurge in political violence that has

seriously undermined the democratic process and created a presumption that these elections will not be free and fair. State-sponsored violence directed toward any individuals or groups who are perceived to be

critical of President Robert Mugabe, his government or his policies, manifests a strategy to demobilize Zimbabweans from mounting or supporting an organized opposition campaign.

The international community and Southern African Democratic Community (SADC) have attempted to play a role in encouraging a democratic process by introducing South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, as a mediator between the ruling and opposition parties. However, the international community remains ineffective in its efforts to stop states-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe.

On March 11, 2007 a coalition of church and civic organizations known as the Save Zimbabwe Campaign, organized a prayer rally in Highfield, a township near the capital Harare. Police used violence and arrests to prevent the peaceful prayer rally. They shot to death an unarmed activist, Gift Tandare, and subsequently arrested several leaders of the major opposition partythe Movement for Democratic

Change (MDC)as well as rank and file attendees.

While the brutal beatings and interference with medical care of the prominent MDC leaders following March 11 received considerable media attention, the persisting torture and political violence,1 particularly 1. For this report, individuals were classified as having been subjected to torture if the experience(s) they reported were considered by the examining physicians to meet criteria for torture as defined in the United Nations Convention Against Torture. (See Methods Section for complete definition).

Individuals were classified as having been subjected to political violence if the experience(s) they reported was considered, by the examining physicians, to be a violent act as a result of their political activities or beliefs, but which was not that perpetrated against rank and file political activists, have not been documented by international health and human rights experts. This report details the state-sponsored violence that occurred in the wake of the highly publicized events of March 11, 2007.

Researchers from the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture traveled to South Africa and Zimbabwe during the last week of April and first two weeks of May 2007 at the request of local

nongovernmental organizations to evaluate reports of torture and political violence. This report is based on the detailed testimony and medical examination of 24 individuals who were subjected to torture or political

violence during March and April 2007. Additionally, interviews were conducted with more than 30 health professionals, human rights advocates and representatives of non-governmental organizations in

Zimbabwe and South Africa.

This investigation, the first conducted by international health professionals with expertise in the evaluation documentation and treatment of torture victims since the March 2007 violence, provides evidence that the Zimbabwean government is systematically utilizing torture and violence as a means of deterring political opposition. This state-sanctioned violence targets low-level political organizers and ordinary citizens, in addition to the prominent members of the political opposition.

The medical evaluations of recent victims of torture and political violence document physical